WWII vet receives medals earned from Congressman

Thursday

Mar 28, 2013 at 5:00 PM

Rural Crossville resident Joe West received a new set of the medals he earned due to his service in World War II from U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill., 15th District) Tuesday afternoon at the Carmi City Council chambers.

West is now 93 and a retired farmer who also worked in the printing industry in Chicago and in Carmi for The Carmi Times and the former Democrat-Tribune following his graduation from the Chicago School of Lithography & Printing.

Braden Willis

Rural Crossville resident Joe West received a new set of the medals he earned due to his service in World War II from U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill., 15th District) Tuesday afternoon at the Carmi City Council chambers.

West is now 93 and a retired farmer who also worked in the printing industry in Chicago and in Carmi for The Carmi Times and the former Democrat-Tribune following his graduation from the Chicago School of Lithography & Printing.

He grew up on East Main Street in Carmi and he and his wife of 65 years, Elizabeth, reside in the country between Carmi and Crossville. They have a son, Terry, and a granddaughter, Christy Churchwell, who also live in the same area.

West was drafted into the Army in 1942 and spent the majority of his time aboard a troop transport ship guarding German prisoners of war. He shared a number of memories from his time in the service, including that the ships never traveled in a straight line, but changed direction every few minutes to avoid being sunk by submarines.

He recalled dropping off troops from the 45th Division at a location that turned out to be wrong. West said he couldn't recall if the troops stayed there or if they took them back.

West said he served as sergeant of the guard aboard the troop ship and oversaw the soldiers that guarded the German prisoners of war. He recalled checking on a young private one day at a guard post and found the man sitting on the deck.

That was bad enough, but behind him was a makeshift jail with a door loosely constructed of two-by-fours and chicken wire. Hanging from the doorknob was the soldier's submachine gun.

Was the young soldier in trouble? "I imagine I reminded him of a few things," West answered jokingly.

He said his only regret of his service in the war was twice turning down an offer of a promotion to first sergeant. West also said one thing he once saw that he didn't like was a bunch of German officer prisoners of war were served a meal by U.S. Army privates.

"They were made to wait on those German officers," West said. "That wasn't right."

West said the medals he earned and were issued had somehow been "lost in the shuffle" so he had written the Congressman and asked for a new set. Shimkus said Tuesday he appreciates the service of all veterans (he is a veteran himself) and was glad to obtain the new medals for West.

The medals were: Good Conduct; American Campaign Medal; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal; Honorable Service Lapel Button (nicknamed by the soldiers of the era the "Ruptured Duck"); and a sharpshooter's badge with rifle bar.

Shimkus invited West to ask any questions and West quickly took the Congressman up on the offer and said he was speaking on behalf of his coffee group that meet each morning at McDonald's Restaurant.

Shimkus laughed and said he now knew where to go to find the solution to all the world's problems.

West asked Shimkus if the House would impeach President Barack Obama. Shimkus said it would be a wasted effort because while the House can vote to impeach, it is up to the Senate to hold the trial. The Senate is controlled by the President's party, so the Congressman surmised the President would not be removed from office even if impeached by the House.

West also spoke of the agriculture bill and said he understands money is tight with a huge deficit in the federal government. While he expects farmers to see cuts in federal subsidies, he asked Shimkus to ensure the cuts were fair and other subsidies were cut in the same amounts.

Schools

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
The Carmi Times - Carmi, IL ~ 323 E. Main Street Carmi, Ill. 62821 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service